At the start of COVID19, I worked online with a kinesiologist in Australia, her parting words at the end of my online session was “follow your heart”.
As we move into the next phase, wondering what life will be like on the other side, these words have become part of my heart practice. They have mirrored my choices and decisions on how I want to move forward.
My advice to you with moving forward is to listen to your heart, follow your heart. Inhabiting the heart begins to inform the mind on how to be in the world.
For some of us, heart practice can be a challenge; it takes daily practice, and it can take lots of unlearning patterns that we replace with new ones, this work is repetitive and is at the core of inner work. I offer you this insight into how it may help you in moving forward; It is a small part of how I work with clients.
During the quarantine, we will have let go of many layers of stress patterns and behaviours that blanketed our lives. I have found some sad and sweet moments in having this space for navigating this. However, moving forward presents us with new lists and regulations about coming out of isolation, some of us are going back to work, school, and navigating public spaces so setting up safety procedures all feels overwhelming.
The seven factors of mindfulness are my reminder of how I can come into the body to create a heart practice. You already have these abilities below. However, mindfulness can help us to learn to identify, appreciate, and strengthen the ones we already have. In doing so, we discover that the real treasures are within us, in the heart space. We can become humble and compassionate to ourselves and others. The alchemy can be found deep within us.
The Seven Factors of Awakening are these:
- Mindfulness: by being here. Present moment awareness
- Investigation: what is this? What is here? What is this?
- Energy: determination by making an effort, to be part of
- Joy: by saying yes to what is here can bring joyful freedom with practice.
- Relaxation: by being with these factors will help mind and body relax.
- Concentration: bringing a steady practice to daily life
- Equanimity: accepting everything as it is can give us inner freedom.
If we allow ourselves to feel, sense and be touched by what we have in question, the answers can come from a place of truth. I have found that the heart opens when we come from a place of stillness, and this is gentle practice is what I use with clients.
Taking a moment of quiet and stillness with one hand on the heart
Arriving
- Find a comfortable place, close your eyes
- Place your hand on your heart and push slightly to feel the rhythm of the heart
- Using the breath to slow down, slowly waking and warming the heart
Meeting
- You might say to yourself “a part of me is?”
- “worried about moving forward?”… take a moment to listen
- or “what is here right now?”… take a moment to listen
- or “how do I feel about this ?”… take a moment to listen
Being with
- Finding the best way to describe it or
- Just be with the issue, with interested curiosity
- Acknowledge all that comes
Closing
- Breathe and soften the wider body
- If you have busy thoughts let the mind know you can go back to them later
- Reflect on yourself with a kind response.
There is so much power in holding this space; we can provide the most profound and safest respect for ourselves for moving forward.
Remember how it was at the beginning of lockdown? Life is very different today, you have more choices than you realise, and you have learned to take care of what was precious, take baby steps and follow your heart. ♡
Clinic address; Whitehart Cottage, Sheepfair Lane, Marshfield, South Gloucestershire. Mob 07809 504441 or email me at paulinepart@gmail.com